ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Did Time magazine go too far by putting New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie on the front cover of this week’s edition -- out Friday -- with the caption “The Elephant in the Room”?

Many of the governor’s supporters and even some of his critics are claiming that Time took a cheap shot at Christie because of his weight issues.

Naturally, the headline could also be interpreted as Christie’s very obvious national presence following his landslide reelection victory this week, not to mention the fact that the elephant has long been the GOP’s symbol.

With Christie being prominently mentioned as a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, there are concerns about his girth, which the governor argues should be a non-issue since he’s been given a clean bill of health. Christie says he's also losing weight due to lap band surgery last February.

Christie hasn’t yet commented on the Time cover and there’s likely to be more fallout. Meanwhile, Time’s editors maintain the “The Elephant in the Room” was not meant to call attention to Christie’s weight but rather to highlight the governor's “outsized influence in his party.”